In just one month scores of community members may gather in Rezac Auditorium at Manhattan High School for what may be a long and impassioned public comment session hosted by the USD 383 board of education. The “mascot issue” is nothing new to the residents of Manhattan, although the topic has resurfaced in 2016 due to ReImage MHK, a new group seeking to rebrand Manhattan High School in an effort to make the Little Apple more culturally friendly.
USD 383 has made local and regional media this week after Eric Reid, assistant superintendent, compiled a rough estimate of just how much changing the mascot may cost the district. By the time uniforms have been replaced, murals repainted, and endzones re-turfed, the district could be looking at a total cost going beyond an estimated $318,000.
“These aren’t hard numbers or anything, but we just wanted to have some type of idea,” said Reid.
Reid partnered with athletic and maintenance directors to compile his estimates. The biggest costs include $54,750 to replace football gear and $40,000 to replace the turf in one of the endzones at Bishop Stadium. Other notable costs include refinishing a gym floor and replacing signage throughout the district.
“We typically change our uniforms every five years or so, but doing it all at one time changes how we budget. We’d need some extra money for that.”
A public forum will be held in the auditorium on Nov. 30 with moderators from the Kansas Association of School Boards present. In recent months community members have continued to approach the board at regular meetings. Reid said his intention was to make sure the board is properly informed before they vote on the issue on Dec. 7.
“The board’s always said one step at a time, and I’m with them,” Reid said. “I don’t want to get ahead of them, but I want to give them the information they need, too.”
